


from soloq to duoq

by starsurge



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, League of Legends - Freeform, M/M, Online Friendship, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, some gamers slang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 17:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14360577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsurge/pseuds/starsurge
Summary: The user bboyflac wants to add you to their list and see your presence online.[Accept]Kang Daniel wants to add you to his heart and feel your love in his (real) life.[?]





	from soloq to duoq

Daniel should have known that logging into League of Legends while being shit-drunk never meant any good; but sometimes things take an unexpected turn of events.

It’s Saturday night and unlike other people who are still out hitting the clubs, or deeply asleep in their beds, Daniel is queueing up for a 5vs5 game instead -- hopefully the normal kind. His head is pounding so much and the letters are swirling in a funny dance that Daniel can’t even tell anymore if he’s chosen the right option.

In all honesty, he doesn’t even care, not in the slightest. All he wants is some distraction and to laugh his ass off because of all the dumb mistakes he’s about to make in game.

Maybe it’s an inconsiderate move to purposely lower the chances of his team winning. What Daniel has learned though is that no one ever cares at night; soloqueue at three in the morning is filled with the likes of him. Either drunk, high, or sleep-deprived people.

It’s not like his sloppy reactions and unserious approach to the game once would make any difference in the colorful mess they’re thrown into. 

What Daniel doesn’t expect is that after a convincing win from the other team (despite their top laner being just as drunk if not even more than Daniel), someone would stay around in the post-game lobby and call him out for his horrible play.  
  


**_madbunny:_** dude just go to bed ffs

**_madbunny:_** i fucking hate playing with drunk assholes  
  


After taking a good look at his teammates’ names, Daniel knows that the verbal attack is directed at him. Usually he ignores frustrated talk in the post-game lobby and closes the window right away; however the alcohol buzzing through his body has taken over his mind and urges him to have some fun with the stranger in the night.  
  


**_bboyflac:_ ** it’s just a game chill

**_madbunny:_ ** so fucking what

**_bboyflac:_ ** did u expect any1 to play seriously at 3 in the morning

**_madbunny:_ ** yes asshole it was a ranked game

**_madbunny:_ ** lemme guess you were too drunk to notice huh  
  


Just those few words feel like a hard punch thrown at his stomach, bringing him back to reality and out of his hazy trance. Daniel really didn’t mean to disturb anyone’s ranked experience; he knows that every win counts in the most competitive and seriously taken aspect of the whole game. 

Finally the gears in his mind start working in full-speed, trying to come up with a good apology. Somewhere his rational side demands him to own up to his mistake, even if it’s just about losing a match in an online game. However that is the crucial point -- it’s an online game in which he has to work together with strangers. Strangers who desperately want to win and go to bed with the feeling of accomplishment.

Daniel has managed to ruin the mood for one of them by letting his intoxication get ahead of himself.

His fingers are hovering over the keyboard when a sudden influx of messages flood the lobby chat.  
  


**_madbunny:_ ** cant you just go like

**_madbunny:_** clubbing??

**_madbunny:_ ** knocking up some girls like every other douche??

**_madbunny:_ ** ur u/n already sounds so

**_madbunny:_ ** so fuckboy-ish

**_madbunny:_ ** -_-  
  


Back to square one; the stranger definitely isn’t getting a well-meant apology. Even if Daniel doesn’t want to admit it, those messages wound him.

Most of all, they remind him why he’s back in his dorm room at three, now almost fucking four in the morning. It makes his blood boil; just as much as they make the dread and guilt seep through him crucially slow again. Slow, painful, always as a reminder for his fuck-up.  
  
  
 ** _bboyflac:_ ** listen here you lil shit

**_bboyflac:_ ** just because ur tilted doesnt mean u can let it out on me

**_bboyflac:_ ** go to bed kdi b4 mama cuts off ur wifi  
  


Daniel has got them good for sure. Leaning back in his chair with a pleased smile curved on his lips, he lets his eyelids flutter shut and stretches his tired body out to get rid off the sores in his muscles. Maybe he should take his own advice and call it a day (night?). His mind has been taken off the pressing matters from before and the amusement the stranger has sparked in Daniel has taken overhand.

The pinging noise from his gaming laptop takes Daniel out of his limbo between sleep and awakeness and he decides to give the mysterious person on the other side of their screen one last ounce of attention.  
  


**_madbunny:_ ** fuck u

**_madbunny:_ ** are u always thsi annoying  
  


Daniel can’t help but to chuckle bemusedly at the stranger’s apparent desperateness. Oh, does he love to rile others up.  
  


**_bboyflac:_ ** u sure are interestd in m e arnt u

**_madbunny:_ ** youre sure whipped for me if youre still staying around

**_bboyflac:_ ** maybe

**_bboyflac:_ ** needa kno u better  
  


Without waiting for a reply, Daniel sends _madbunny_ a friend’s request and closes the window of the game right after.

There’s no way that they would accept the offer, which is why it’s better to log off instead of waiting around in tensed anticipation.

Besides, Daniel’s eyelids really start to feel too heavy and a looming headache is approaching again; it’d only be wiser to finally fall into bed and knock out until late afternoon preferably.

»»————-————-««

Sunday mornings after a night of drinking out are always the worst. They aren’t all sunshine and healing; guilt, regret, and a pounding headache along with a tossed up stomach all greet him on the last day of the week. Not only does he have to deal with a hangover, he also has to face bad life decisions as well.

He might also have to deal with a concerned friend, who is unbothered and relentless in his ways to get Daniel going for the day.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” Jisung chirps out in a clear and playfully teasing voice as he opens the curtains to the windows, laughing at Daniel’s muffled out groans of agony in reaction.

Bright rays of sunshine invade the previously darkened room, coating the contours of the inhabitants in a fluorescent glow and penetrating Daniel’s weakened eyesight irritatingly. In a weak and desperate attempt to block out the blinding light, Daniel rolls onto his stomach, riding up his shirt in the process, and presses his bloating face into the pillow.

It works, but only for about thirty seconds before Jisung pulls the pillow out from Daniel’s grip and swats him on the back of his head with it. There’s no way Daniel is going to get his way like a sulky kid.

Yet it doesn’t stop Daniel from trying.

“Go awaaay, Jisung,” Daniel groans out, his deep voice even rougher than the usual and raspy on its edges, laced with sleep. “It’s Sunday. Don’t wanna get up.”

He hears Jisung’s tongue click, a clear sign of annoyance, before he’s being shoved to the side with all of the older man’s force. It positively fusses Daniel up enough to keep him awake against his own will.

“First of all, young man: It’s already past noon. You’ve had enough sleep.” Even though Daniel is itching to respond brattily, he keeps his mouth shut, being too intimidated by how Jisung is hovering above him with his passive-aggressive stance and his arms crossed in front of his chest, indicating that it’s better not to mess with him. “I brought you homemade chicken soup. Where’s my damn respect for saving your hungover ass every time?”

At least those words have enough effect to have Daniel mumble out a small _i’m sorry_ to Jisung while looking up at him with his infamous puppy eyes, which does the trick to have the older man soften up to Daniel.

He hasn’t been raised to be an ungrateful brat; after all, Jisung _did_ take out time of his day to nurse Daniel’s hangover. After Jisung successfully ushered Daniel out of the bed and into his bathroom, he warms up the soup while the younger boy takes a needed hot shower, which does wonders to his mentally and physically tired body. Just as much as the soup recharges Daniel’s energy and the painkillers Jisung shoves into his hand lessens Daniel’s headache.

Daniel really is profoundly thankful for his friend.

Up till the late afternoon, Jisung stays around and watches Iron Man with his younger friend before he deems his job for the day to be done. He doesn’t leave without nagging at Daniel to clean up after himself later, but the concerned and worried look in his eyes speak volumes: he just wants the best for the younger.

The smile Jisung receives in return is a tell-tale that Daniel really doesn’t want to bother him anyhow. He can deal with his problems on his own.

So the first thing Daniel does is to turn his laptop on, opening the client for League of Legends. Wasting time on a video game and having the mind distracted of the urgent matters on miscellaneous gaming issues  is the way to go nowadays.

What Daniel expects the moment he’s logged in is an invite from Jaehwan to a ranked game; what the client shows instead is a box on the right bottom of his screen, telling him that the user _madbunny_ has accepted his friend request.

In the first moment, Daniel stares at his computer screen dumbfoundedly. His mind is still too hazy to supplement him with last night's happenings; fragments of memories flash as abstract images in front of his mental eyes. All too clearly he remembers visiting his - _their_ \- regular club, he remembers dancing amongst the energetic crowd with Seongwoo pressed against him until the heat had become too unbearable. Litres of alcohol have been passed around his circle of friends proceeding to drinking games ending in the back of the club.

Cut in - nothing. Maybe it had been the fresh air that hit him and evoked confusion in Daniel so he doesn't remember much about the time gap between the drinking games and coming back home anymore. Last thing he knows is that he turned his computer on with lots of struggles and logged into League of Legends; only to have a discourse with an irritated user. 

_Oh_. The user _madbunny_ is none other than the person Daniel has pissed off in his intoxicated state and received backlash for it in return. Something that is supposed to turn off people, only got the opposite effect in Daniel's case.

Unconsciously, a small bemused smile breaks out on Daniel's face and his hand reaches out for his gaming mouse to open his friends list, hovering over the name of the newest addition to it. One quick glance tells him that madbunny's status is set to green, meaning that he's online and available. Daniel bites down on his lip nervously; he usually doesn't add unknown users to his friends. On top of the fact that he doesn’t have clue about the person whatsoever, they haven't even started on the best of terms.

After all, Daniel has subconsciously hinted as a shade that madbunny is a twelve years old kid living at his parent's place and who has a hyperfixation on video games to the point that he can't even take a loss with humor. By all means, it could still be the case - but it's not fair that Daniel has put down judgement on the user so quickly.

Maybe a restart could work for them. In all honesty, Daniel isn't even sure why he wants to be friends with the user so much; it's not the first time he has been in a discourse with a toxic and/or tilted player and usually, it ends up with a report from Daniel's side rather. There's something else to the situation however; Daniel was the one in the wrong and the other user wasn't afraid to call him out for it and dealt sternly with a drunk version of Daniel.  
  


**[6:32] bboyflac** : interesting... u accepted the request

**[6:33] bboyflac:** im too irresistible i know  
  


Another smile is tugging on the corner of his lips as Daniel is too amused by the cocky act that he's displaying himself. It's nothing alike to his real personality, but in the realms of a video game, boasting and showing off in a playful or taunting matter is the way to go. There's no harm to it if meant in good spirits, which can be even transcended correctly into a written form.

Daniel still hopes that the stranger has a sense of humor. His worries slowly dread through him the more time passes without an answer, which results in way too many scenarios that Daniel shouldn't even think or care about; isn't it a bit too pitiful after all to be hung up on a literal stranger in every sense imaginable?

Yet in the moment the chat blinks up with a new message, the notification makes Daniel sit up straight, all of his anxious thoughts dissolved into thin air.  
  


**[6:39] madbunny:** dont flatter yourself too much

**[6:39] madbuuny:** i still think you're a douche

**[6:40] bboyflac:** yea about that... i'm sorry

**[6:41] madbunny:** all good

**[6:41] madbunny:** im not forgiving u fratboy but lets just forget last night  
  


_Yeah_ , Daniel breathes out heavily and wills his lips into a wry smile, _let's forget last night. All about it.  
_

**[6:42] bboyflac:** name's daniel btw

**[6:43] madbunny:** okay? lol

**[6:43] bboyflac:** just saying its not fratboy or fuckboy or w/e

**[6:44] madbunny:** whtever u say dannie boy  
  


Daniel feels both exasperated and amused by all those messages from madbunny, a combination that only the fewest of people can get out of him. The stranger has a healthy attitude that Daniel can’t deny. Or her. They're still a mystery to Daniel yet it only pushes him to try and coax out more basic informations from them. Curiosity really has killed the cat.  
  


**[6:46] bboyflac:** whats ur name

**[6:47] madbunny:** madbunny

**[6:47] madbunny:** :)

**[6:48] bboyflac:** ha ha very funny

**[6:49] madbunny:** thx ik

**[6:49] madbunny:** why should i tell you my name

**[6:51] madbunny:** i dont even know you for all ik u could be a pedo

**[6:52] bboyflac:** lol dw im a college student

**[6:53] bboyflac:** i only date nd fuck ppl of my age

**[6:54] madbunny:** good to know

**[6:54] bboyflac:** ok but i told you my real name so...

**[6:55] madbunny:** so ur being careless  
  


It's scary how the conversation flows easily but can't be deciphered at the same; what Daniel has thought to be a cakewalk turned out to be harder than his promo games for a higher rank. Never before has it taken Daniel so long to gain any kind of information from another person, especially someone's name. He isn't even sure if the stranger is playing around with Daniel at this point or if they're really secretive to the core.

In every other case, Daniel would have dropped the conversation. Something he would feel guilty about at first but forget about the next day - not that he's that type of jerk, but if he feels that there's no interest and effort put in from the other side, it's pointless to waste his energy on an online friendship that's never meant to bloom.

Whatever spell the user has put Daniel under, it works wonders that Daniel views them as a puzzle meant to be solved with all of his heart poured into. He won't give up now or later; he'll make this work, one way or another.  
  


**[6:57] bboyflac:** how about we play a game, bunbun?

**[7:00] madbunny:** I JUST GAGGED IN REAL LIFE

**[7:00] madbunny:** I SWEAR TO GOD NEVER CALL ME LIEK THIS EVER AGAIN

**[7:01] bboyflac:** nope sorry cant do as long as i dont know ur name ;)

**[7:02] madbunny:** ...

**[7:02] madbunny:** it's jihoon u sly motherfocker  
  


_Checkmate._ Satisfaction is rushing through Daniel in a boost of endorphins, which only further gives him the feeling of being a king on top of the world. He really needs to get his adrenaline out and what's better than to play a serious round of League with his new friend?

Exactly. Nothing.

His good mood reaches another high when he sees Jihoon in his game lobby despite his horrible play from yesterday's night.

It really does seem that Jihoon takes his words serious; quite the perfect requirement to dare a restart with him.

Jihoon really is a mystery that has captivated Daniel in no time: so quickly it would be scary to anyone else; but Daniel wouldn't be Daniel if he doesn't dive head first into every opportunity that presents affection and interpersonal closeness on a silver tablet.

»»————-————-««

"Hey Daniel, do you want to go out with us? We're going to the pancake place down the road." Jaehwan's voice cuts through the air and positively has Daniel's head wiping into his roommate's direction for a split moment.

In Daniel's eyes, the answer is already clear: Wavering from the computer screen to Jaehwan and back again, uncertainty and nervous energy all bundled up. By the way Daniel is biting down on his lips as if he's beating himself up over how to decline the offer politely, Jaehwan can already tell that the younger boy is caught up in an inner turmoil.

"Right. You can't." Just to make the situation easier by taking the announcement of Daniel's decision off him, Jaehwan voices out the obvious on his own. "I'll take pancakes with me for you later. Don't forget to give me the money when I'm back, though."

There's a sinister grin on Jaehwan's face, so typical for him, but it does its work to dissolve the weird tense atmosphere in the room. At least Daniel is slumped up in his seat all relaxed and with relief washed over his face.

"Hwannie," the person in question looks back at Daniel upon hearing his name, languid curiosity written all over his face. "I'm sorry. I-it's just that it's Thursday night... err, you know, my gaming session with Jihoon..."

Before Daniel could have rambled on longer, Jaehwan waves him off but not without a shit-eating grin stretched across his face while he's wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at his roommate. Jaehwan's childish and teasing reaction makes Daniel doubt himself for feeling bad about missing out on a get-together with his friends. He doesn't even need the promised pancakes anymore just out of spite. (That's a lie. Daniel is always up for good food.)

The sound of the door shutting close brings Daniel back to reality and his head snaps back to the direction of his computer screen, his eyes trained on the opened chat in the game's client. Two unanswered messages from Jihoon's side, which let Daniel forget momenterialiy about his guilt from rejecting his friends.  
  


**[5:12] madbunny:** im going support today btw

**[5:12] madbunny:** sorry not sorry but u suck as a support lol  
  


Even if it's a direct jab at Daniel's inability to play his proclaimed main role to its right extent, he can't help but to laugh at the comment. It's just so easy bantering with Jihoon - despite his frank and unforgiving nature, Daniel can tell that Jihoon talks without filter out of comfortableness rather than seriously wanting to insult Daniel. He dares to even call it endearing that Jihoon has new brash comments up his sleeve every day and seems to give some thought into coming up with creative nicknames, just to annoy Daniel further.

In the span of less than a month, Daniel has come to realize that he likes his new friend. What has begun as a disaster developed into something precious, something that Daniel is thankful of experiencing. Internet friendships might have not been his forte before but with Jihoon - with Jihoon, it's different. Maybe it's the push-and-pull tactic that the other boy is using on Daniel, or maybe they'd have clicked right away in either case if the circumstances would have been different and allowed them to meet in real life instead.

Maybe it's even fate. Whatever is it, there's no point in wrapping his head around the reason. Daniel would rather enjoy his time with Jihoon and explore the many different aspects of his character. Personality traits that Jihoon only allows to let flow into their conversations piece by piece. Just as calculated as the other boy is in games, so does he seem to be with interpersonal relations.

Against  Daniel’s interrogative nature, he is willing to be patient and cover up his overeagerness to soak up every information thrown at him like a sponge. No matter how badly he wants to know Jihoon better, he doesn’t want to scare him away.

It's good as it is. They're moving on a set pace that is natural for both of them in a silent agreement.

To be fair to Jihoon, the latter has given Daniel some insight to his life. Starting from the basics: Jihoon, 19 years old, recent high school graduate. Any further informations are confidential, as Jihoon has said in one of their first few talks. One thing that they have in common aside from gaming is the passion for performing arts. Not only has Jihoon been taking acting lessons ever since a kid, he also is a part of a dance club.

If Daniel wasn't already so infatuated with Jihoon, the mere mention of dance would have done the job instead. He may or may not have geeked out on the evening Jihoon opened up about his other hobbies, but thankfully Jihoon took it on the easy shoulder and rambled on and on about his popping background. When Daniel started to talk about b-boying and went into the technics and formalities that would bore any other person in no time.  Jihoon did not only lend an ear to Daniel, he even showed genuine interest to the topic.

Daniel likes to think back to that particular conversation with a fond smile. Maybe he really got lucky meeting such an amazing person on a disastrous night, a night which Daniel would have tried to bury in his memories otherwise.  
  


**[5:18] madbunny:** you still there?

**[5:18] madbunny:** im about to start without you otherwise lol

**[5:19] bboyflac:** you wouldn't dare

**[5:19] madbunny:** its not like i couldnt play with other people lol  
  


_Here we go again with the push-and-pull game,_  Daniel thinks to himself and feels his heart swell in a mixture of endearment and amusement.  
  


**[5:20] bboyflac:** pls you like me too much

**[5:21] madbunny:** LOL

**[5:21] bboyflac:** i gotta protect my precious support on the battle field

**[5:22] madbunny:** im not a dimsel in distress

**[5:23] madbunny:** besides youre my bitch dannie boy

**[5:24] bboyflac:** oh i'm yours now?

**[5:25] bboyflac:** this rs is moving too fast .///.

**[5:26] bboyflac:** not that im complaining tho  
  


Before Daniel could have continued his teasing, Jihoon kicks him out of the game lobby and threatens to start off without him.

It takes lots of persuading with even more typos from laughing too much thus missing the right keys to pull through with their gaming session. Even so, Daniel has the time of his life, swamped by all kinds of positive emotions that only Jihoon awakens in him.

Jihoon is one lucky catch for Daniel; both as a wonderful friend and partner in crime (or rather game).

Maybe, he's even more; a thought that Daniel doesn't dare to entertain in prevention of heartbreak that he doesn't want to experience again.

»»————-————-««

Daniel might have spent his summer break more in front of his computer than he usually would.

In the very essence, it's nothing necessarily unknown that Daniel likes to dwiddle his pastime with video games. Especially since the only responsibility he has in the two class-free months is his part-time job, so he has plenty of time to kill otherwise.

Thus his routine has become pretty fixed: From Monday until Thursday he's working in the afternoons except for the last day, on which he has a shift from the morning till around noon. Whenever he gets back home, first thing Daniel does is to cook up some dinner before he hauls himself up in his room, sometimes with the food in tow, and spends away the rest of his day in the world of League of Legends.

Logically, Daniel coming to hang out with the squad at an outdoor pool on a particularly hot day shouldn't come to his friends as a surprise; yet Daniel's arrival is greeted with surprised gasps and exaggerated mimics.

"Sorry, do we know you...?" Seongwoo asks in a genuinely confused voice, putting his acting skills out there with a single sentence, only to get a dismissive scoff back in return. The small tantrum has the other boys grinning in amusement - all except Jisung.

Daniel could feel the judging stares filled with underlying concern on himself the moment he was in his friends' view. Despite the uncomfortableness that has engulfed him as a reaction, Daniel merely brushed the weird feeling of himself and acted as if nothing is different.

He's out there to have a fun time. That he has promised Jihoon the day before when the other was teasing Daniel, asking him playfully if he could even survive a day without him.

After all, it's not only Daniel who has decided to catch some sunshine on the very definition of a summer day. Jihoon too is out with his best friend on an amusement park date, so as Jihoon has worded it.

The painful sting that Daniel feels in his chest is merely a side effect to the exposure to the cruciating and merciless sun; it doesn't have anything to do with Jihoon enjoying himself with another boy, not in the slightest.

His eyes being squinted together in obvious annoyance, face schooled into a scowl, is just another side effect from being blinded by the bright light.

When Seongwoo bumps their shoulders together and throws his arm around Daniel's broad shoulders, joking around about Daniel's mental absence, the younger boy simply shrugs him off and huffs out a whine. "Even if I'm here it seems to be a problem!"

Laughter is bouncing around the group from the defensive statement, and even more teasing with no ill intentions gets thrown back and forth to rile up their youngest one amongst the round, which Daniel takes with pride and humor, sometimes cracking a joke about himself as well. That's the atmosphere he needed: Free-spirited, comfortable and with lively dynamics.

In the heat of the moment, Daniel's mind unhelpfully supplies him with possibly jabs from Jihoon; he can all too greatly imagine how he'd join Daniel's friends and drag Daniel through the mud in a strangely fond way. How he'd act coy even if he's the very reason Daniel has to listen to all that nagging about never going out anymore.

Daniel just doesn't understand why his mind seems to revolve around Jihoon in the most miscencalleous moments and situations.

"Before you steal Daniel away for some ridiculous pool adventures..." Jisung suddenly speaks up and comes up next to Daniel, curling his hand into the other's nape in a tale-telling sign, worrying the youngest boy. "I'll have him for myself for just a moment. Niel will join you later, right?"

A bit too stiffly and unnaturally, Daniel nods his head and waves his other friends off, who don't think too much about their weird behavior. Jisung is known to be concerned at the most randomest times; yet it still flares up anxiety inside Daniel.

What possible could Jisung want from him? It's not what he thinks that it is about... is it?

"Hey, stranger." Voice soothing and gentle, Jisung smoothens his hand out on Daniel's nape and gives him a comforting squeeze. As emphatic as Jisung is, the latter could tell how nervous his youngest friend must have been, which is far from what he has intended with their little talk. "Loosen up a bit, I'm not going to eat you. I just want to ask you one simple question, is that alright?"

Daniel merely gives him a shrug in reply, but he guesses that hearing Jisung out won’t hurt. Maybe he's still a bit worried about the outcome of this conversation, or which direction it'll take, but there goes now all or nothing.

"Lately you've been a bit... closed off. I know it's normal for you to spend your summer break playing video games for days, but... it's different this time. Is it because of Seongwoo?"

Mortification would have been an understatement to describe Daniel's reaction; upon hearing Jisung's question, he accidentally choked on his own saliva and his eyes widened, trying to get his message across. 

After all this time, his friends really still believe that he - _they_ \- haven't moved on, even going as far as to blame Daniel's solitariness onto the incident between the two best friends. Daniel has to set the record straight, now or never.

"Jisung, I- I appreciate your concerns. This has nothing to do with Seongwoo however." The answer sounds broken due to Daniel's raspy voice, an after effect from the coughing fit, but his eyes are determined and showing no wavering in them.

"So, what's the real reason then? Is it- no way." Abruptly, Jisung's expression changes from a troubled one to a flabbergasted one, which sparks Daniel's interest, cocking up his eyebrow curiously at the other.

"Kang Daniel, what's your relationship to your new friend?"

Mouth falling and shaping into a silent 'o', Daniel's body betrays him by dusting his cheeks in a soft baby pink while his hand reflexively goes up to his nape, rubbing it bashfully as he's trying to come up with a sufficient answer.

Yet it's everything already that Jisung needs for a definite answer.

"Friends - we're friends. As you said, Jihoon is my friend. We can't meet each other in real life like I can meet you all. That's why I spend more time in front of my computer."

What Daniel has said is nothing but the truth; while he knows that Jihoon lives in Korea, he doesn't know where. They haven't talked about this aspect of their lives, which is understandable. No one in their right mind would give away their exact address carelessly. On top of that, neither of them have even brought up the possibility of meeting up in a public place at some point.

There's still quite a lot he doesn't know about Jihoon. He has no idea what the younger boy looks like. All he knows is that Jihoon has dyed his hair in a light shade of brown recently and that he's smaller than Daniel.

Whenever Daniel thinks about Jihoon, it's in an abstract way - in a way that is shaped by his perception on the other boy. Daniel imagines someone who seems inconspicuous on the outside - soft light brown hair, a pretty face, bright eyes. Small build in terms of height and proportions. It's a generic image but Daniel has a feeling that it fits the shoe.

Sometimes, he really wants to ask for a picture, may it be out of curiosity or to have his suspicions proven true. Or maybe to have a deeper connection to Jihoon; to have the knowledge that he's someone the other can trust.

Daniel doesn't want to know about Jihoon's appearance out of superficial reasons; he doubts that it'd change his immense liking of Jihoon if he has the real image of him in his mind. Jihoon's personality, him as the genuine person that he is, has captivated Daniel already.

He might or might not be screwed royally and utterly.

"Oh my god," Daniel groans out and buries his face into the palms of his hands while repeatedly shaking his head side-to-side. "I can't believe I've let it come so far."

Even if Jisung heaves a troubled sigh, he rubs soothing circles on Daniel's back, never minding the gross fact that the other's t-shirt is sticking to the sweaty skin. Comfortation is what matters the most in the very moment.

"There's nothing wrong about crushing on an internet friend. We're in the 21st century after all." Jisung tries to cheer his dearest youngest friend up, who has been hit with the realization that has been lingering for so long already in the shadows. "Just... be sure that Jihoon is who he claims to be. Don't do anything until you've seen him right in front of you with your own two eyes, yeah?"

Daniel lets out a defeated chuckle at Jisung's subtle protectiveness but saves the advice into a corner of his mind. He'll give the pressing matter more thoughts later on; for now, he just wants to forget about the situation he's got himself into.

It really is a blessing in disguise that Daniel has been forced into going out for the day; that way he can take his mind off the realization that has struck him like a lightning for just a few hours.

»»————-————-««

After a few days of rolling around in bed, screaming into his pillow, and beating himself up for falling for a complete stranger, Daniel has finally decided to take initiative instead of whining around.  
  


**[9:02] bboyflac:** so i was wondering...

**[9:02] madbunny:** dont overwork ur pretty head

**[9:05] bboyflac:** how would u know that im pretty

**[9:07] madbunny:** youre right i bet youre a redneck

**[9:08] bboyflac:** IM TRULY OFFENDED NOW

**[9:09] madbunny:** dont get ur panties in a twist now

**[9:10] madbunny:** u rejected my compliment lol  
  


Even in Daniel's most desperate times, Jihoon wouldn't let him live. No way in hell would Daniel admit that he really has rejected the compliment out of his own fear that has come along with The Realization™.  
  
 **[9:12] bboyflac:** anw as i was saying... how does skyping sound to u

**[9:13] bboyflac:** lol i mean.... its easier to talk and play

**[9:14] bboyflac:** ESPECIALLY because we're botlane partners

**[9:16] madbunny:** just say that you want to hear my beautiful voice and GO

**[9:18] bboyflac:** dont get full of yourself now young man

**[9:19] madbunny:** my id is jeojang0529

**[9:20] madbunny:** pls dont ask about the name

**[9:21] madbunny:** i wish i could turn back time and stop my cringy 16 years old self

  
In all honesty, Daniel doesn't even know what Jihoon is talking about exactly, but he stores the other embarrassed rambling in his memories to have another thing to tease Jihoon with. 

For now, he opens up his Skype program and searches up Jihoon's ID in the given bar, quickly finding and adding the other to his friends list there.

Just thinking about hearing Jihoon's voice for the first time sends jitters through Daniel's body, turns his palms sweaty and makes the ever confident Daniel self-conscious about himself. What if Jihoon decides after weeks of talking to each other over text messages that he actually doesn't like Daniel? Stringing up coherent words and sentences by using the keyboard is easy; he can take his time to think through what he wants to say and doesn't have to worry about his voice cracking, or his brain-mouth filter failing, or something along those lines that could come across as awkward. However now that Daniel doesn't have that safety blanket anymore in a voice call, it does turn him nervous, more than he'd like to admit.

Whatever Daniel has between him and Jihoon - he doesn't want to screw it up anyhow. Maybe it's pointless to overthink about a possible failed conversation possibly ruining their relationship; but as it is known, persuasion to turn strong attraction into something more does not allow mistakes in the slightest.

It's too late now to take back his words as he sees an incoming call flash up on his screen to which Daniel adjusts his headset quickly before accepting it.

"Hello?" Daniel purposely lowers his voice, which does already have a deep tone to it, and sucks in his breath the next moment in anticipation of Jihoon's first words ever spoken to him.

After a few seconds of stretched out silence, Daniel might have been rewarded with the most beautiful _Hi_ that he's ever heard in his life. Exaggeration? Daniel has never heard of her before, _especially_ not when it comes to Jihoon. Never.

Jihoon's voice isn't anything that Daniel has imagined: It's way deeper than thought, rivaling his own low octaves, but while his own voice has a bright ring to it, Jihoon's sounds rather smooth and mildly warm.

Daniel resembles summer: Bright and burning. His voice colors are the deep red and orange hues that are painted by the sunset into the sky. Jihoon resembles spring: Soothing in its warmth with a certain kind of lively energy to it. The clear blue sky giving way to the sun that is measured in its intensity fits as an illustration to Jihoon.

"Wow, I don't know what to say." His musing comes out in a breathless way, all plans of trying to sound and appear smooth long thrown out of the window. "You sound different than I imagined."

From one moment to the other, Daniel feels the world spinning around him just from hearing Jihoon's simple soft chuckle, which doesn't even get picked up from the other's microphone fully. Just from knowing that he could make Jihoon happy for even a second is enough to have Daniel's heart skip a beat, however.

"Yeah, I don't sound like a twelve years old going through puberty, thanks." The counterattack is so Jihoon, the exact Jihoon Daniel has grown accustomed over texts but after all this time, Daniel finally can hear the fondness in Jihoon's voice. It's quiet and underlying in his deep, self-assured voice, but only if one is attuned to Jihoon's antics, they would be able to hear out the playful softness.

"I know what to say to you, though." From the sudden anticipation, Daniel holds in his breath, afraid that there would be judgement from the other boy. "You sound as lame as you type. Impressive."

If any other person had said the same comment about Daniel, the latter would have seen it as an insult and become passive-aggressive in return. With Jihoon, it's so different; Daniel picks up on the teasing lilt in his voice and knows that the other is smiling hard, wants to push the boundaries and test them out. Maybe Daniel is an easy enough victim to Jihoon's antics by only showing his soft and kind-hearted nature; instead of using the pigtail-pulling method on Jihoon, Daniel laughs so wholeheartedly that the heightened bright mood even affects Jihoon.

Instead of the soft, barely audible giggle from before, Jihoon's real laughter is loud and has a wheezing ring to it. It should almost be pathetic how it punches the air out of Daniel's lungs and makes him stop instantly just to appreciate the sweet tunes.

"Sorry." Jihoon says in between stifled laughter, sounding awkward rather than delighted as he has been before. "I got a bit ahead of myself."

"No, it's fine. Just be yourself with me." Even if meant as consolation, Daniel means every word of it. He doesn't want some fake or toned down version of Jihoon - no, he wants the other boy to feel comfortable around Daniel and show his true colors.

Daniel genuinely wants Jihoon. There's no more use in denying it to himself; yet he has to hold himself back. Ironic how he wants Jihoon to be as he is and comes, but he himself can't let down his guard. After all, Daniel doesn't want to ruin their precious bond by confessing his most likely one-sided attraction in a voice call.

Surreal how Daniel can finally match a voice to Jihoon, but is still kept in the dark by the younger boy about his looks.

Jihoon is still as abstract to Daniel as one can be. It doesn't stop him for falling deeper for the person that is Jihoon as himself; for the beauty that is inside Jihoon.

The more Daniel listens to Jihoon talk, the more he can feel his heart swell up with endearment and love.

At first, there's a layer of awkwardness over them; as about every first voice call has to fight with the initial stiffness. Over time and with Daniel's interceptive, their conversations become more open, casual and upbeat. Their talking becomes just as natural as their text messages.

In the way Jihoon converses and picks on Daniel, the latter can feel how he has become comfortable talking to the older boy. Daniel is so whipped in every sense that he doesn't even complain about the jabs thrown at him anymore and gives all the power to Jihoon to be as playful as he wishes to be. It even results into Jihoon whining about looking like a malicious person if Daniel takes the teasing comments without defending himself, which Daniel uses as an opening for acting hurt and wounded.

Their conversations are truly flowing so easily and naturally that neither of them notice the time passing by and the clock striking midnight.

Along with the flying time and the darkening skies, the silent atmosphere loaded with vulnerable emotions in the depths of the night, their moods change and shift into a weird sensitivity.

"You know, my first impression on you was horrible. I don't even know why I accepted your friend request." Jihoon suddenly speaks up and almost chokes at the end of his sentence, tension thick between them. Maybe it has been because of the general strange atmosphere, or he might be afraid for once that Daniel could take it the wrong way.

It would be hypocritical albeit for Daniel to judge Jihoon for his bad impression considering in which messed up state he had been on that one fateful night.

"Yeaah, about that... it had been a rough night. Not that it excuses my idiotic behavior anyhow but I was too drunk and fussed up to even care about other people's feelings."

That surely has been more information provided than intended or necessary, but Daniel just has the gut feeling that laying out the cards in the open would be a significant turning point in their relationship. For him, it's a sign of saying _I trust you enough to give you an insight of my world of emotions; I trust you enough to let you know about my fuck-ups and my most closed off experiences._ He just hopes that Jihoon can pick up on Daniel's receptiveness and willingness to share his secrets.

"I guess you want to know the reason, right?" Almost in an instant comes Jihoon's hurried _yes_ but Daniel pays no mind to the impatience and eagerness in the other's reply; it feels as if Jihoon has been waiting for Daniel to open up on his own and satisfy his curiosity. For some strange reason it gives Daniel a confident boost to go on with his self-wallowing story. "Since there's no point beating around the bush... I tried to kiss my best friend while clubbing. Didn't work out well."

Silence draps on them like a heavy blanket that Daniel could suffocate in the tension. Did he say something that hits home to Jihoon...?

The more seconds pass by them, the more Daniel is positively losing his mind. Packing up all of his stuff, moving out of the country and changing his name suddenly sounds like the best idea Daniel has ever had in his life.

"How did it end?" Somehow, the sentence sounds pressed and as if it was a burden for Jihoon to get it past his lips. If Daniel gave himself a chance to look into Jihoon's wavering voice, the way he sounds monotone and his words are calculated, no playful bite found in them anymore but rather stoidness, he'd have had the epiphany he needed.

Alas, Daniel thinks that denial and forced upon simplicity is the right answer. He can't allow himself to analyze Jihoon's behavior as it'd only bring his hopes up unwarrantly. Probably.

"Uh, well. He pulled away before I could have kissed him. I couldn't even get a taste of his lips, it's kinda really pathetic looking back at the event." Bitterness is etched into the chuckle that slips out of Daniel's mouth in reflex, which is met with a heavy exhilaration from Jihoon's side - almost as if he has held onto it with his dear life. "Either way, I'm over it now. We're both over it, I guess. It was really damn awkward at first, we couldn't even look each other into the eyes. However, I've made my point clear that I've come to only see him as a friend. No more unnecessary feelings involved."

_Unlike for you,_ Daniel wants to add wishfully but holds himself back. _I like you too much to see you only as a friend._

"I'm sorry. Falling in love with a friend really sucks, doesn't it?" Jihoon heaves a wistful sigh, painful longing evident in his vague statement. It leaves Daniel itching to get behind the reason for Jihoon's too empathetic response, which more feels like a projection of his own feelings.

What Daniel wants to do is to say _sorry. I fell for you despite all the odds, but I value our friendship too much to screw it up. I guess I'm too much of a coward after tasting the bitterness of rejection._

Instead all he says is a simple: "Yeah."

Daniel is not sure if he has reached the turning point in their relationship that he has hoped for.

(He's too focused on himself to pick up on the subtle signs from Jihoon, who too has given up on getting his real feelings across.)

»»————-————-««

After their kind of (more than just kind of) intimate voice call, Daniel logs in the next day to see no trace of Jihoon anyhow. He waits the whole evening without starting a round of League just in case he could miss Jihoon.

It’s around eleven in the evening that Daniel just says _fuck it_ and plays his frustrations away.

The next following day, the same. Rinse and repeat on the third day.

On the fourth day, Daniel might freak out just the slightest. (Jaehwan holds the opinion that Daniel is close to a breakdown by how frantic he is worrying for no reason. Daniel has half a mind to not kick him in his best parts.)

Almost a week later and Daniel has positively lost his mind with each and every passing second without Jihoon.

There are two legit and totally validated reasons for his crippling anxiety: First of all, there's the possibility that something bad has happened to Jihoon and Daniel would never know about it. He has no other way of contacting Jihoon besides via an online game or via Skype, no surname to look him up on social medias or look for his name on the news. Daniel loses his mind wondering if something unimaginable has happened to Jihoon, which he truly wishes is not the case.

It doesn't help that Jihoon has suddenly gone missing without leaving a message. Something along the lines of "Hey, I'll take a break from my Internet addiction!" or "I'll be busy with life for a few days, don't miss me too much." would have let Daniel sleep in peace.

The second reason is a rather selfish one and yet Daniel can't block out the treacherous voice that is whispering into his ear every night, building up doubts inside him.

What if Jihoon has been scared off after knowing more about Daniel's struggles and isn't yet ready to confront Daniel about wanting to break off this friendship?

Objectively seen, the assumptions are groundless and baseless. Jisung has told him to worry less and not let his fears swallow him. Jaehwan has told Daniel in his cruel ways to get over it, Jihoon has a life outside a video game as well. Even Seongwoo advised Daniel to just enjoy the last weekend before classes start and forget about Jihoon just for two days. He'll come back sooner or later.

Until then Daniel might even be able to sort out his feelings.

Best case scenario that is near impossible in Daniel’s opinion. He already knows what his hearts wants; it’d be none other than Jihoon.

Maybe his heart wavers quickly, jumps around to whoever gives him the time of his life. However, he can feel that it has grown roots; that it finally has settled and doesn’t want to let go off Jihoon.

Just a few days without the younger boy and he already starts waxing poetry about him. Daniel can’t even recognize himself anymore; it truly is a spectacle how whipped he has become for a boy he hasn’t even met.

His friends call him a whipped puppy, one without their owner. What describes Daniel better is a kicked puppy, an image that almost breaks Jaehwan’s heart.

Keyword: _Almost._

“I know what we can do on this wonderful last day before classes start again.” From the way Jaehwan is smiling at him sinister to how his voice goes up at the end of the sentence with a lilt of mischievousness, Daniel can tell that he’s up to no good. “See, it’s Sunday, which means that the freshmen have moved in. Maybe we can find you a new little boyfie?”

“My profile are not freshmen.” Daniel counters and rolls his eyes back in irritation, a sign to show off his refusal to the idea. In the greater scheme of things he doesn’t actually go actively for the first years. Jihoon is merely one exception in his whole dating history.

It takes Daniel a whole few seconds to realize his mistake and mentally berate himself for putting Jihoon into the same category as his other past datemates. After all, that’s not how he should be described. Jihoon is a friend; there’s a difference between reality and Daniel’s wishful thinking.

No matter what happens it seemingly always reminds Daniel of the one person he so desperately wishes to forget for even just one second.

Before he can sulk around again, Jaehwan takes it upon himself to be an annoying ass, kicking Daniel out of his bed in the moment of distraction.

“Get on some pants, we’re going to the common room.” It’s more of a determined choice from Jaehwan’s side rather than an offer, which leaves Daniel no room to continue being stubborn and to comply instead.

“If you want to meet new people in your kitty cat boxers though, I’d say go for it.”

Jaehwan’s evil cackling resonates through the room even as Daniel throws a pillow after him, missing his target just by a hair. Nope, he’s not going out with Jaehwan anymore.

Spoiler alert: he does, but only after listening to Jaehwan lovingly mock him with a song that he came up with on spot. He’d rather pointlessly walk around the complex than have Jaehwan warble about _Daniel, The Coward_ into his ears. After all, he did not sign up for such disrespect from his roommate. (Especially not as long as Jaehwan hopelessly pins after his crush who is his classmate, someone that he knows and sees about every day. A love story even sadder in its failures than Daniel’s 21st century Romeo and Juliet internet adaptation.)

It is Daniel’s soft spot for his friend that has him follow Jaehwan out of their appointed dorm part in a somewhat styled up appearance. His infamous black Addidas sweats and a white Off-White shirt thrown over, sleeves rolled up to his elbows; just a casual look that has a certain kind of attractiveness attached to it, partly because of the confidence Daniel usually carries himself with.

This time around however, his fashion statement is a mishap: Shoulders slumped in, his broad frame shrinking in size from his sluggish tread, it emits uncertainty and reflects his torn world of emotions. Not that it matters anyhow. Who in this dorm would even care about Daniel’s appearance?

(The question should be rather: Who would Daniel care enough about to impress? There’s only one person, who has left Daniel stranded in self-despair with his sudden absence to god-knows-where.)

Faintly in the background Daniel can make out some chattering from Jaehwan while they’re walking down the stairs to the common room. Daniel registers none of the words coherently, his mind too faded out into nothingness.

Voice too shrill, not soothing enough in its depth and missing warmth associated with the unpredictable season of spring; the melody of the birds finding their way home is the one that is branded in Daniel’s mind after just one listening.

Loneliness has engulfed the ever so cheerful Daniel, its roots being found in the separation from his other half, and might have even driven him to the point of hearing Jihoon’s wheezing laughter in his very surroundings. Mind playing tricks on him as a coping mechanism; love can drag someone into the claws of desperation for sure.

Except that Daniel definitely couldn’t have imagined Jihoon’s voice again and again, meddling in the chorus of various other voices.

As if on autopilot, Daniel stops in his tracks and wipes his head into the direction of the noises; coming into sight with a group of freshmen judging on their curious gazes, timid stances and awkward energy surrounding them.

In between them is a boy relatively small in height, ashen hair ruffled up in a softish way, and eyes shining in brilliance as if the galaxy is kept hidden in them. Daniel feels drawn to him, gravitation pulling him to the boy; there’s no doubt that it _has_ to be Jihoon.

His feet are dragging him to the group without his conscience. He only noticed when all eyes are on him and Jaehwan’s amused but bewitching giggles fill his ears.

“Err, hi.” The greeting comes out squeaky, his deep voice going up in octaves while his cheeks start to dust in a soft baby pink. It gets out the wanted reaction from the boy that Daniel has set his full focus on nevertheless: eyes going wide like a deer caught in the headlight. “Don’t wanna seem creepy or anything but… are you possibly Jihoon?”

Silence falls between them while undivided attention is set only on them; surroundings blending out, the boy Daniel has set all his hopes on is bathed in the soft sunlight falling through the blinds of the window. It has Daniel’s breath hitching at the back of his throat, anticipating bubbling in the pit of his stomach from the unknowingness of the situation.

“How do you know?” Confusion underlined with nervousness lays in the question but it is enough of a confirmation to have Daniel’s eyes sparkle from excitement and his imaginary tail wagging furiously. “It’s me, Daniel! Bboyflac!”

Jihoon’s lips shape into a silent ‘o’ before forming into a bright smile, teeth and gums showing; without hesitation he pushes himself onto Daniel and hugs the taller boy to his heart’s full content. Never before would Daniel have believed that Jihoon, the boy who lives to tease and drag him as a way of showing his fondness, would resort into affection in form of a whirlwind hug at their very first meeting.

It takes Daniel a whole moment to register Jihoon’s warmth at his side but as soon as the gears of his mind work on full-speed again, he snakes his arms around Jihoon’s waist and pulls him in closer for a full-body embrace. Desire, disbelief of the situation, and ecstasy are all poured into their hug of union; the one moment both have been waiting for has aligned in the strangest coincidence that neither would dare to question.

Fate works in mysterious ways after all. Maybe Daniel’s suffering over the past few days has been a test imposed by the universe to unveil his heart’s wishes.

And maybe Daniel’s friends are another test - but instead of the universe, it’s coming straight from hell.

“Wait a second, you’re Jihoon? Daniel’s loverboy Jihoon?”

One could hear the pin drop upon Jaehwan’s question, who seems to be smug and pleased with himself instead of showing any signs of remorse.

Daniel wonders if it could count as an accident if he pushes Jaehwan out of the window right there and then. Considering that they’re on the second floor it’d at least result in a few broken bones without putting Jaehwan in further danger; on another thought, Daniel is too much of a broken college student to pay for his friend’s hospital bills.

He’ll pay Jaehwan back by embarrassing him big times in front of Sewoon - that’ll do him justice.

For now all he can do is to gloom at Jaehwan with his eyes squinted together, telling dangers with his eyes, but Daniel’s intimidate stance is broken by the deep-red blush spreading over his face up to the tips of his ears and down his neck to his chest hidden underneath his shirt. In embarrassment he’s mirroring Jihoon, who has stiffened up in his arms and seems intend to put distance between them by peeling off Daniel, who only reluctantly lets go off the younger boy.

“I don’t remember being Daniel’s Jihoon.” First statement Daniel hears from Jihoon after a week of silence and it already manages to make his heart drop. Daniel is so going to kick Jaehwan’s ass as soon as they’re out of Jihoon’s sight. After all, he can’t leave a bad impression around his crush. (Albeit there’s the chance that Jihoon wouldn’t even care and think of it rather as amusing from what Daniel has gathered so far about his personality.)

Jihoon, however, is full of surprises and plays around with Daniels heart and sanity too much.

“I’m his support, so technically it should be Jihoon’s Daniel. Right?” Looking up coyly from under his long eyelashes, there’s a glint of mischievousness in Jihoon’s sparkling eyes, and Daniel is hypnotized by the alluring teasing from the other.

Daniel is left speechless until he feels someone kick him into his shin while clearing his throat loudly, which brings him right back to reality.

“Well then, I’ll be in the common room.” Jaehwan announces while taking a few strides forward to the stairs, looking back to make eye-contact with Daniel to hopefully get his message across telepathically. It only seems to work on the group of freshmen who follow Jaehwan suit, one of the boys sticking out his thumb up to Jihoon in a supporting manner.

In the end it’s only them; Daniel and Jihoon engulfed in an awkward silence. Too awkward for two friends who have finally got into the taste of luxury that is being around each other physically instead of having to rely on the Internet.

“Uh, are you hungry?” Daniel eventually breaks the tension between them but his voice comes out as timidly soft and careful as it could be. “I really am craving some fried chicken if you’ve got to ask me.”

Upon the mention of food (or most probably the mention of chicken) Jihoon’s eyes sparkle in excitement and his hair bounces up and down as he nods his head vigorously. It has Daniel caught again in a trance but unlike before he can get a grip of himself in time.

Deep down he knows that it’ll take him a while to stop catching himself staring at Jihoon. It can’t be helped; Jihoon is beauty and grace combined and Daniel could never get tired of him, now that he’s seen Jihoon without the mask of anonymity hiding him away from Daniel’s hungry eyes.

Daniel just hopes that Jihoon won’t grow tired of him or worse: be disappointed that Daniel might have not met his expectations. If he has had any at the first place.

For now Daniel will have to impress through his actions.

“I’ll pay for the food, but I need to get my wallet first. Meet you downstairs in ten?”

»»————-————-««

Daniel takes Jihoon to his favorite food place around the block.

With the help of the comfortable ambience, tasty chicken and a refreshing glass of beer for Daniel, the tensed mood crumbles down and changes into the familiar exuberance between them. There’s no more difference between their conversation on a chat and exchanges made on a physically spoken level; besides the sight of an eye-candy that is sitting in front of Daniel.

About two hours later and Daniel still can’t believe that Jihoon, the Jihoon in flesh and blood, reappeared on the surface of Earth after a week in the same dorm that Daniel lives in. South Korea is smaller than he has thought after all.

So badly does Daniel want to ask _why._

_Why did you leave me without a note?_

Instead he listens to what Jihoon has to say: About his parents freaking out over their son moving out to live on his own. How he’s thankful that his best friend called Woojin is in the same dorm as him, which makes the change of living situation considerably easier to adjust to. Jihoon shares his worries, thoughts and expectations about university life with Daniel; his naivety and thrill of anticipation unconsciously puts the fondest smile on Daniel’s face.

Eyes crinkled to crescent moons, glistening with pure happiness, his nose crunched up cutely and his lips spread out all over his face that it even shows his imperfect teeth.

The type of smile that is pure and genuine; the type of smile that is only reserved to those that Daniel loves with his whole heart.

“Can I ask you something?”

One question, just one question that dampens the mood and has Jihoon tensing up in his seat. Most probably because Daniel’s expression changed rapidly from sunshine to rainy weather in a split second.

“I- well, uh, you haven’t been avoiding me the past few days, have you?”

Cat’s out of the bag and Daniel can’t take it back anymore. His burning curiosity is too strong and no matter what’s the answer, he just _has_ to know.

“Well…” Jihoon speaks up without looking at Daniel, his gaze lowered nervously on his fiddling thumbs. Unusual for someone like Jihoon. “I needed some time off for myself to sort out my thoughts. And feelings.”

The last word leaves Jihoon’s mouth hastily as if he’s afraid of speaking out the truth; of exposing himself and laying out his heart’s content bare.

For a few dragged out moments, none of them dare to say a word. In his mind, Daniel twists and turns Jihoon’s words to look at them from every angle, every perspective, every meaning possible. He overthinks and overthinks and overthinks until his brain is fuming. 

All of a sudden, everything falls in place and clicks in his mind.

With a confident grin on his face, Daniel looks straight at Jihoon until he catches the younger boy’s gaze. Even if showing clear signs of nervousness, Jihoon doesn’t back off and holds eye-contact with Daniel, which gives the latter the last confidence boost needed.

It’s now all or nothing.

“You know, I like you, Jihoon. More than as a friend.”

Daniel has expected quite a lot of possible outcomes; foremost rejection. What he hasn’t been prepared for is the most beautiful and genuine smile directed straight at him from the boy that continues to capture Daniel’s heart.

“Fucking finally. I thought you’d never confess to me.” Jihoon simply says, the corners of his lips tugging up playfully, but the sheer love displayed in his bright eyes is enough to convince Daniel that this is far from a rejection. He might even dare to say that it’s the complete opposite of it.

“I like you too, dumbass. That’s why I distanced myself… I guess I was scared of falling too deep and being hurt.”

Daniel just laughs at Jihoon’s confession in a moment of emotional constipation; it wasn’t out of glee or mockery. Disbelief it is; disbelief over their both inability to act upon their feelings and resort to denial and unnecessary prevention instead.

“Shut up, Dannie boy or else I’m taking my words back.” Jihoon growls out in annoyance, resembling more a puppy though rather than a wolf, which has Daniel coo at him teasingly. It’s met with a gloomy expression and the promise of payback written all over Jihoon’s face.

“Make me if you want me to shut up.”

The intentions are more then clear in Daniel’s suggestive statement, even more so when he puts his chin on the palm of his hand and leans forward until their faces are only inches apart.

Unexpectedly, Jihoon seems to consider the situation and holds in his breath as he too comes closer and closer with his lips - only to push Daniel’s face away in the last moment with another round of wheezing laughter.

Mouth agape wide open, Daniel’s expression is flabbergasted from the unexpected turn of events.

“Your breath stinks after beer.”

“Will you let me kiss you if I brush my teeth?”

“Mhh… I might be able to arrange that only if you rinse as well.”

Daniel might have to make a run for the nearest convenience store first to buy the most expensive mouthwash all for the greater good that are Jihoon’s kisses.

 

_» fin. «_

**Author's Note:**

> jihoon's ig name is a reference to MadLife, who is an icon amongst support progamers ; daniel's ig name is his bboy name 'flac' which he has mentioned once
> 
> so this is my very first time writing winkniel and jihoon as a main character... i hope i've done them/him enough justice;;
> 
> i love the aspect that they're gaming partners and uuh i guess i got a bit enthusiastic writing about two gaymers falling in love over league of legends 
> 
> special shoutout to my beta and my friends who were willing to listen to my rants/gave me advice whenever i was stuck with the plot you all are the real mvps
> 
> i appreciate comments and if you want to talk to me you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/sagglxy)!


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